Vantaa, Finland, 2017-04-28 08:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cramo Plc Business Review 28 April 2017, at 9.00 am (EET)
Cramo's Business Review for January-March 2017
Good start of the year
JANUARY–MARCH 2017
- Sales EUR 162.9 (155.4) million, up by 4.8%. In local currencies, sales grew by 5.2%
- EBITA EUR 19.7 (13.0) million and EBITA margin 12.1% (8.3%)
- Earnings per share EUR 0.28 (0.16)
- Cash flow from operating activities EUR 42.3 (23.6) million and cash flow after investments EUR 5.4 (-4.3) million
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
- New strategy and new long-term financial targets launched
- Mr Veli-Matti Reinikkala elected as Chairman of the Board
- Annual General Meeting decided a dividend of EUR 0.75 per share to be paid
-
In April, Mr Petri Moksén, Senior Vice President, Modular Space left the Company
KEY FIGURES
| KEY FIGURES AND RATIOS (MEUR) | Q1/17 | Q1/16 | Change % | 2016 |
| Sales | 162.9 | 155.4 | 4.8 % | 712.3 |
| Comparable EBITA | 19.7 | 13.0 | 52.2 % | 111.1 |
| % of sales | 12.1% | 8.3% | 15.6% | |
| EBITA | 19.7 | 13.0 | 52.2 % | 106.7 |
| % of sales | 12.1% | 8.3% | 15.0% | |
| Profit for the period | 12.6 | 7.0 | 79.6 % | 68.6 |
| Comparable EPS, EUR | 0.28 | 0.16 | 79.4 % | 1.70 |
| ROCE, %*) | 11.6% | 9.0 % | 10.6 % | |
| Comparable ROCE, % | 12.4% | 9.3 % | 11.4 % | |
| ROE, % | 15.3% | 11.6 % | 13.6 % | |
| Comparable ROE, % | 16.8% | 12.0 % | 14.9 % | |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.68 | 1.96 | 1.77 | |
| Net interest-bearing liabilities | 381.3 | 372.1 | 2.5 % | 387.0 |
| Gross capital expenditure | 35.4 | 30.6 | 15.8 % | 207.3 |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 42.3 | 23.6 | 79.3 % | 172.2 |
| Cash flow after investments | 5.4 | -4.3 | 7.3 | |
| Average number of personnel (FTE) | 2,570 | 2,497 | 2.9 % | 2,550 |
* ROCE = EBIT (rolling 12 months) / capital employed (average start and end of period)
CEO LEIF GUSTAFSSON:
The start of the year 2017 has been promising. Demand for equipment rental and for modular space developed favourably, and we succeeded in increasing sales in all our equipment rental business segments. Sales performance was also supported by the timing of Easter compared to last year. In modular space the rental sales also clearly increased from last year.
Profitability improvement continued to be strong in the equipment rental business division. However, in modular space profitability development was unsatisfactory in the first quarter, which was mainly due to cost overruns in some projects in Finland. Actions have been taken to secure better cost control in the future.
In February we launched our new strategy ‘Shape and Share’ and set the new long-term financial targets until 2020. The implementation of the new strategy has started in all countries. Looking ahead, for this year, I expect the demand for equipment rental and modular space to stay at a good level in all our segments, supported by the good outlook in construction industry and megatrends such as urbanisation and migration.
MARKET OUTLOOK
In Cramo countries, the construction market outlook for 2017 is mainly positive. The construction market analysts Euroconstruct and Forecon estimated in December 2016 that the construction market will grow approximately 1-3 % in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany in 2017. In Czech Republic, Lithuania and Russia the total construction market is not expected to grow. In Sweden, the local estimate (Sverige’s Byggindustrier) for construction growth was increased from 5 to 8% in March. According to latest estimate of the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries in March the construction market will grow approximately 2.5 % in Finland.
European Rental Association (ERA) forecasts that the equipment rental market will grow in all of Cramo’s operating countries that are within the scope of ERA’s forecast.
CONFERENCE CALL
A conference call for analysts, investors and press will be held on 28th April at 11.00 am (EET). To participate in the conference call please dial in 5-10 minutes prior to the start time on +358 (0)9 7479 0404 and provide a conference code 7556494. The conference call will be held in English. Questions can be asked after the presentation.
A replay of the conference call will be available later on the day at www.cramogroup.com.
CRAMO PLC
Leif Gustafsson
President and CEO
Further information:
Mr Leif Gustafsson, President and CEO, tel: +358 10 661 10
Mr Aku Rumpunen, CFO, tel: +358 10 661 10, +358 40 556 3546
Mr Mattias Rådström, SVP, Communication, Marketing and Investor Relations, tel: +46 70 868 7045
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.
Major media
www.cramogroup.com
Cramo is Europe’s second largest rental services company specialising in construction machinery and equipment rental and rental-related services as well as the rental of modular space. Cramo operates in fifteen countries and in about 320 depots. With a group staff around 2,600, Cramo's consolidated sales in 2016 was EUR 712 million. Cramo shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.
Read more: www.cramogroup.com, www.twitter.com/cramogroup
